How Cabbage Can Improve Your Health

By: Ajanta Sen

Published: Tuesday, May 17, 2016, 5:00 [IST]

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Cabbage is one of the most familiar vegetables that we are introduced to since our childhood. Often mistaken as lettuce, cabbage is actually a cruciferous vegetable, which is well known for being filled with beneficial nutrients.

If you are interested to live healthy adding cabbage twice in a week can actually give very important health benefits.

Cabbage comes in different colors - green, red and purple. And it can have crinkled or smooth leaves. Half cup boiled cabbage consists of 20 calories. Which is why, it is a great addition in regular diet, if someone wants to lose weight.

Fruits and vegetables are filled with various nutrients like vitamin, minerals, antioxidants and essential amino acids. This is why it is very important to create a diet plan that includes fruits and cruciferous vegetables, like cabbage for balanced diet.

Below are mentioned some of the benefits of eating cabbage for health:

Better immunityAs cabbage is very rich in vitamin C, it is the primary nutrient building our immunity system. Adding cabbage in regular diet fulfills our vitamin c intake and this is how eating cabbage twice a week improves your health.

Also, the dietary fiber that is present in cabbage leaves helps to regulate the immune system and reduces inflammation, leading to a better health.

Better digestionIt is a traditional way to consume cabbage in a fermented form. This popular dish which uses fermented cabbage as their main ingredient, namely, sauerkraut and kimchi are packed with probiotics.

Healthy microbes help to maintain an acidic environment to develop and preserve various flavors and essential enzymes and make it easier to absorb vitamins and minerals. This is one of the benefits of eating cabbage for health.

Improves heart healthRed cabbage has anthocyanins, which gives its red vibrant hue. Anthocyanin is an antioxidant which also is a soothing agent. It reduces the risk of inflammation and eventually helps to prevent cardiovascular diseases.

A recent survey has shown that regular consumption of flavonoid rich foods lower down the risk of heart diseases. Also, cabbage is high in polyphenol which helps to reduce blood pressure and platelet build up. And this is how eating cabbage twice a week improves your health.

Cancer prevention:Cabbage has sulphoraphane, a cancer fighting compound. For decades scientists are doing research on this compound and their report says that regular intake of cabbage is associated with lower risk of cancer. Sulphoraphane is the same compound that also gives the cabbage its signature bitter bite.

Promising results are coming into light with different forms of cancers, i.e., esophageal, pancreatic, melanoma, prostate. Researchers have pinpointed that this compound can inhibit the harmful enzyme HDAC, which helps to progress cancer in our body. This particular ability makes cabbage a super food.

Another natural compound in cabbage, namely, apigenin has been well known to reduce tumors size in advance in advance form of breast cancer. Scientists also claim that in future, apigenin is potentially going to be a core element for non-toxic treatment of cancer.

Shielding ability:3, 3’-DIM is a crucial compound that is very common in cruciferous vegetables. This compound works as a shielding agent against the effects of radiation therapy. During a research done by Georgetown University, they came to the conclusion that DIM treated subjects end up having higher blood count while the subjects, which were not treated by DIM did not have the same characteristic.

So apart from being a powerful antioxidant, DIM is actually a protective compound which shields the healthy tissues from harmful radiation. This is how eating cabbage twice a week improves your health.